NO on Ballot Issue 2A, 'convention tax'

Posted:
10/24/2016 07:04:59 AM MDT

Although I am not opposed to the establishment of a community/convention center, I disagree with the way the proponents are proposing to pay for it: taxing another person to pay for something we want. [Does that sound like another government entitlement program?] In this case, let the unsuspecting traveler — who will probably receive little or no benefit from our local community center — fund it. The proponents state that adding a 2 percent addition to the lodging tax is no big deal and travelers won't mind having it added to their bill. If it's no big deal, then why not add another 2 percent tax to our local sales tax to pay for the community center. Would voters be in favor of that? I think not. No one likes more taxes. Additionally, it makes no sense to me that we promote activities to bring visitors to town to help our local economy, but then we try to make it a negative experience by having a special tax just for them.

It has been reported that we have one of the lowest lodging taxes in the area; therefore, an increase will be OK and more in line with the surrounding communities. Actually, the proposed new tax will make ours one of the highest. Why would a knowledgeable traveler want to stay here when he can drive a few extra miles and save money? The same would be true for people planning business meetings and conventions.

Advertisement

Also, we are being asked to approve a funding source for a project that we have little information about. Where will the structure be located, what kind of activities will it accommodate, how large will it be, who will be responsible for upkeep if we don't have enough lodging tax funds, and so forth. This scenario brings to mind something California Representative Nancy Pelosi said, "Just pass it, and we will figure out the details later." We know how well that worked.

In conclusion, I am not opposed to the establishment of a community/convention center. But I do believe we must reevaluate how we want to fund it. I, like everyone else, would like to see Logan County prosper, but not at someone else's expense. If this ballot issue is passed, I believe the message it sends is we like taxes and the things that they buy, as long as someone else pays for them. I really don't believe we, as area residents, want to be portrayed in that fashion. Please vote NO on Ballot Issue 2A.

Article Comments

We reserve the right to remove any comment that violates our ground rules, is spammy, NSFW, defamatory, rude, reckless to the community, etc.

We expect everyone to be respectful of other commenters. It's fine to have differences of opinion, but there's no need to act like a jerk.

Use your own words (don't copy and paste from elsewhere), be honest and don't pretend to be someone (or something) you're not.

Our commenting section is self-policing, so if you see a comment that violates our ground rules, flag it (mouse over to the far right of the commenter's name until you see the flag symbol and click that), then we'll review it.